Former B.C. MLA Harold Long dies in float-plane crash off Stuart Island

MLA Harold Long in 1988.

Photograph by: John Yanyshyn
, Vancouver Sun

Mornings will be a little quieter in Powell River without Harold Long.

For years, the start of nearly every day has been punctuated by the distinctive roar of the former MLA’s DHC-2 Beaver float plane heading out over the coastal straits and islands.

“We’d say ‘oh there goes Harold’ because it had a special sound to it,” recalled Myrna Lieshman, a Powell River city counsellor and longtime friend of Long’s.

“Flying to Harold was like brushing your teeth. It was nothing, he just flew so much that it was just the most comfortable thing in the world.”

Even so, Leishman said she had a sinking feeling Tuesday when word spread of a float plane crash near Stuart Island. The sole occupant, Long, was found by search and rescue personnel in the overturned vessel. He was 72.

Transportation Safety Board spokesman Bill Yearwood said there were no witnesses to the crash and two investigators were sent to the site Wednesday.

It is not yet known if Long’s plane was equipped with voluntary safety devices such as pop-out windows designed to aid escape in an underwater crash, nor is it known if he was wearing a shoulder harness, Yearwood said.

The TSB is investigating the cause of the crash along with B.C. Coroner’s Service and the RCMP.

Long served as Social Credit MLA for the MacKenzie district — now Powell River-Sunshine Coast — from 1986 to 1991 and again as a Liberal MLA from 2001 to 2005. He was also the owner of City Transfer Ltd., a family-run a transportation and shipping company bought by Long’s father, Burt, in 1947. Harold took over the company in the 1970s, expanding the business before entering politics. The company is now under the leadership of Long’s two sons, Craig and Phill.

Despite his high-profile business and political careers, Long was well-known in Powell River for his accessible, casual nature, said Leishman.

“Harold was always Harold, he was never, ever Mr. Long,” she said.

She spent many summers flying with Long and her late-husband Tom, both fixtures at Powell River’s Westview Flying Club. The group would often venture out in Long’s Beaver for fly-outs and camping trips to the surrounding Gulf Islands.

Among Leishman’s favourite memories are the celebratory dances held at the Westview clubhouse upon their return.

“Harold was always at the centre of it all,” she said.

Premier Christy Clark, who served as MLA with Long from 2001-2005, also remarked on his generous spirit in a statement Wednesday.

“There were never any strangers when Harold was around. He treated everyone exactly the same — like a friend.”

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